Water bills set to rise by 'more than £100' under new plans in blow to customers

In a connection published earlier this year, h2o regulator Ofwat said bills could emergence by £94 implicit the adjacent 5 years - this equates to £19 a twelvemonth - nevertheless this measure hike is acceptable to beryllium adjacent higher

Water bills volition emergence much than the £100 primitively projected by suppliers successful a large stroke to struggling Brits.

In a connection published earlier this year, h2o regulator Ofwat said bills could emergence by £94 implicit the adjacent 5 years - this equates to £19 a twelvemonth - to assistance "fund higher costs and investment" successful the sector. However, the BBC reports that the hike could beryllium adjacent higher. The h2o regulator is presently deciding however overmuch lawsuit bills volition beryllium allowed to rise, and astatine the moment, it is unclear however overmuch this could perchance be. The BBC reports this fig volition beryllium offiially confirmed towards the extremity of the year.

In July, Ofwat agreed to let h2o bills to emergence by 21% connected mean betwixt 2025 and 2030. However, the magnitude bills could emergence did alteration from institution to company. The biggest emergence would beryllium seen by Southern Water customers who were acceptable to spot a 44% summation to their h2o bills implicit the adjacent 5 years. The lowest emergence was for Affinity Water customers with a emergence of 6%.

Thames Water, the UK's largest h2o company, was fixed the go-ahead to rise bills by 23%. Although amid ongoing fiscal troubles astatine the firm, it said bills needed to emergence by 59% successful bid to support operating arsenic normal. It is understood that Ofwat is allowing the bigger increases successful bills to bespeak the higher financing costs for h2o suppliers.

Water suppliers person made headlines implicit the past fewer years owed to the level of earthy sewage they are pumping into the UK's waterways. At the aforesaid time, bills person been hiked. Investors person besides been condemned for the dividends and enforcement wage they person received. Earlier this month, the regulator ordered h2o companies to instrumentality £ 158million to customers successful bills aft each 17 firms missed their targets to trim pollution, leaks, and proviso interruptions.

This week, the BBC reports that Labour volition denote a caller autarkic committee that volition counsel the authorities connected a "proper reset" of the manufacture to amended show and pull caller investment. The commission's reappraisal volition person input from large UK stakeholders including customers, biology bodies, investors and engineers. The authorities is besides acceptable to denote plans for the "biggest overhaul" of the h2o manufacture since its privatisation.